The Stones Speak: The Multicultural History Hidden in the Land’s Place Names

Nir Topper
May 3
8 min read

The story of place names in the Land of Israel is the story of the multicultural history of this fascinating region.

The map of Israel is a living historical document. Every mountain, valley, and city carries layers of cultural memories from the many civilizations that have lived here, leaving their mark on the land—and on all of us—to this very day. The study of place names (toponymy) reveals that these names are not accidental; they are the result of complex processes of migration, conquest, translation, and intentional or accidental corruption. Understanding how names are preserved allows us to read the map as a continuous story spanning thousands of years.

Preservation of Sound vs. Preservation of Meaning

One of the most common ways a name is preserved is through its sound, even when the original meaning is lost.

Banias: This is one of the most famous examples of phonetic preservation. The site has been called "Paneas" since the Hellenistic period (starting from the 3rd century BCE), named after the Greek god Pan, whose cult was centered in the local cave where the water emerged. Around 3 BCE, Herod Philip (son of Herod the Great) established his capital there and named it "Caesarea Philippi"—"Caesarea" in honor of Emperor Augustus, and "Philippi" after himself to distinguish it from Caesarea on the coast. However, the name that stuck with the local population was "Paneas," the older name (it is possible that the name "Philippi" actually helped preserve "Paneas"). Following the Muslim conquest, the name's sound was preserved, but since the Arabic language lacks the hard "P" sound, it was replaced by "B," thus turning Paneas into Banias.

Beit She'an: Another example is the city of Beit She'an, which became "Beisan" in Arabic, maintaining the phonetic skeleton of the ancient biblical name. After the city was captured during the War of Independence (May 12, 1948), a local council named "Beit She'an" was established (June 1949), and the ancient Hebrew name was returned to official use. This was part of a broader trend of restoring historical Hebrew names to sites across the country—a movement that gained official status with the establishment of the Government Naming Committee in 1951.

Tel Gezer: Similarly, the Canaanite root of Tel Gezer was preserved in the Arabic name "Tell el-Jazari" through sound alone. Charles Clermont-Ganneau identified the site in 1870 thanks to the phonetic similarity. The identification was later confirmed by bilingual inscriptions (Hebrew and Greek) found carved into rocks a short distance from the mound, bearing the words "Boundary of Gezer."

When the Sound Vanishes but the Meaning Remains

Conversely, sometimes the original sound disappears, but the meaning is accurately translated.

Tel Dan: The Arabic name "Tell el-Qadi" (Mound of the Judge) preserves exactly the meaning of the biblical name "Dan" (from the Hebrew root D.Y.N, meaning "to judge"). Interestingly, the name "Dan" itself is the product of an ancient renaming process: the original Canaanite city at the site was called Laish (or Leshem). According to the Book of Judges (Chapter 18), the members of the tribe of Dan, migrating north in search of an inheritance, conquered the city and renamed it "Dan" after their tribal ancestor. Thus, the Arabic name "Tell el-Qadi" essentially "froze" a translation of a name that was itself the result of a political-demographic move during the biblical period. It is worth noting that the name "Dan" also survived directly in sound—for instance, in the name of the "Leddani" stream and the "Ain el-Dan" spring.

Rosh HaNikra: Similarly, the Hebrew name "Rosh HaNikra" is a Hebraization of the Arabic "Ras an-Naqura." Both names are built from shared Semitic roots: "Rosh" and "Ras" share the Proto-Semitic root *ra'š (head, cape, or end), while "Nikra" and "Naqura" share the root N.Q.R (to peck, carve, or hollow out). Thus, the Hebrew name maintains both the sound of the Arabic name and its semantic connection to the unique geological structure of the site—the white chalk cliffs and their grottoes.

Folk Etymology: When "Mistakes" Become History

Sometimes, names are born out of attempts to give meaning to a foreign name that was misunderstood.

Latron: This is a fascinating case. The Crusader fortress at Latron was built in 1132 to protect the road from Jaffa to Jerusalem and was named Le Toron des Chevaliers (The Knights' Tower). Over time, the name was corrupted by locals to "Latron." In the 14th century, Christian pilgrims associated the name with the Latin word Latro, meaning "thief." This gave birth to a tradition identifying the site as the home of the "Good Thief" (Dismas) who, according to the New Testament, was crucified alongside Jesus Christ. It was subsequently called Domus Boni Latronis—"The House of the Good Thief."

Bnot Ya'akov Bridge (Bridge of the Daughters of Jacob): A similar process occurred here. The Crusaders called this ancient Jordan River crossing Vadum Jacob (Jacob's Ford)—but not after the Patriarch Jacob. The name came from a confusion: a Crusader nunnery in Safed dedicated to Saint James (Jacques/Jacob), son of Zebedee, received a portion of the tolls collected at the crossing. Since the name Jacques is derived from Jacob, the nunnery's name became associated with the biblical Patriarch. In the 13th century, the Mamluks built a stone bridge there and called it "Jisr Yaqub." Later, the component "Banat" (Daughters) was added, likely influenced by a local Arabic tradition linking the site to the daughters of the Patriarch Jacob who passed through on their way to the Land of Israel. Thus, the name "Jisr Banat Yaqub" (Bridge of the Daughters of Jacob) embodies layers of confusion, translation, and folk tradition.

Castel: This name is derived from the Latin Castellum (fortress), given to the Roman fort built on the mountaintop in the 1st century CE to guard the road to Jerusalem. In 1140, a Crusader fortress named Castellum Belveer (Beautiful View Fortress) was built on its ruins. The ancient Roman name was preserved by the local population, who called the village that grew there "al-Qastal." Interestingly, the Latin word castellum also referred to a structure for collecting and distributing aqueduct water, a term that was also borrowed into Arabic—so the name may have inadvertently preserved the memory of ancient water infrastructure in the area.

The Conqueror’s Seal: The Name as Witness

Conquests leave a deep linguistic mark, and sometimes it is the conqueror's name that becomes the identifying name for the local population.

Shechem / Nablus: The city known today in Arabic as Nablus was founded in 72 CE by Emperor Vespasian as Flavia Neapolis (The New City of the Flavian Emperor), about 2 km west of ancient Canaanite Shechem, which had been destroyed. The Arabic "Nablus" is a corruption of the Greco-Roman "Neapolis." While Hebrew preserved the ancient Canaanite name "Shechem," the Arabic language immortalized the Roman imperial move.

Tiberias: Founded around 20 CE by Herod Antipas (son of Herod the Great and brother of Herod Philip), Tiberias preserves the name of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. The new name replaced the older name of the site—Raqqat, according to Jewish tradition (Joshua 19:35)—though whether they occupy the exact same location remains a matter of debate. Similarly, Caesarea, founded by Herod the Great and named after Augustus Caesar, effectively erased its previous name, "Strato's Tower," from everyday collective memory.

Ideological Toponymy and the "Hebraization" of the Map

With the establishment of the State of Israel, the Government Naming Committee began a deliberate process of "Hebraizing" the map—sometimes based on archaeological identifications, sometimes to create biblical continuity, and sometimes by preserving ancient names from various periods.

Avdat: The archaeological site of Avdat in the Negev is a prime example. The Hebrew name "Avdat" preserves the Arabic "Abdah," which is itself a preservation of the name of the Nabatean King Obodas, who was venerated as a god and, according to tradition, buried there. This creates a remarkable continuity: from the Nabatean king to the Arabic-Bedouin name to the official Hebrew name—three linguistic layers preserving the memory of a ruler who lived over two thousand years ago.

Kiryat Gat: Modern settlements like Modi'in were established near sites historically identified with Jewish heritage. A cautionary tale, however, is Kiryat Gat. Founded in 1954, the city was named after the biblical Philistine city of Gath, based on the archaeological identification accepted at the time. The Naming Committee even changed the name of the nearby mound (Tel Erani) to "Tel Gath" in 1953. Later excavations, however, disproved this identification. It is now widely accepted that biblical Gath was located at Tel Tzafit (Tell es-Safi), about 13 km northeast of the city. While Kiryat Gat's name was not changed, the incident tempered the enthusiasm for assigning biblical names without solid archaeological evidence.

Names as Ecological Fossils

In many cases, a name is the last evidence of a vanished natural world.

Nahal Taninim (Crocodile Stream): It is named for the Nile crocodiles that lived there until the beginning of the 20th century—the last known crocodile was hunted there in 1912. Today, the name serves as a "linguistic fossil" documenting an ecosystem that no longer exists.

Ein Gedi: This name preserves the memory of the "Gedi" (goat kids) that frequented the spring. Unlike Nahal Taninim, however, nature here has not vanished: the Ibex, the iconic symbol of the site, still roam the streams and cliffs just as they did in ancient times.

Nahal Ayalon: If its name is indeed related to the Ayal (deer), it reminds us that this valley was once home to animals that have almost entirely disappeared from the urban landscape of the Gush Dan metropolis.

Gush Dan: It is interesting to note that the name "Gush Dan," describing Israel's central metropolitan area, is inextricably linked to this tribal history. The name commemorates the original territory of the Tribe of Dan, located in the Shephelah and the central coastal plain. The geographical duality—Dan in the center and Dan in the north—is a testament to the tribe's migrations. According to the Bible, the Amorites pushed the Danites back, not allowing them to descend into the valley (Judges 1:34). Researchers suggest that Philistine pressure along the coast also contributed. Some tribe members migrated north and conquered the city of Laish (as mentioned earlier), while the modern name "Gush Dan" was adopted in the 20th century to describe the dense urban "block" sitting on the ancient tribal lands.

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Image 1: The site of the sacred precinct dedicated to the god Pan, Banias. Photo: Nir Topper.

Image 2: A reconstruction proposal of the sacred precinct to the god Pan, Banias. Source: On-site signage. Photo: Nir Topper.

Image 3: Signage at the Latron Monastery. Photo: Nir Topper.

Image 4: "Boundary of Gezer" inscription No. 5, photographed at the Tel Gezer site (see the dedicated post on my blog). This inscription helped confirm that the site is indeed ancient Gezer, as preserved in its Arabic name. Source: Gil Maestro, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Alongside it: A replica of "Boundary of Gezer" inscription No. 1 at Tabor House, Jerusalem. Source: Tamar Hayardeni.

Image 5: "Tiberian Vocalization" (Niqqud), a work by sculptor David Fine. The Tiberias Open Air Museum. Source: Wikipedia (see the dedicated post on my blog). It is fascinating how the Tiberian vocalization system, which preserved the Hebrew language, is named after a city whose name was preserved from Greek.